Trapped
by HollyFire
Summary: After being separated from each other for 3 days, the 7th Doctor is reunited with Ace, and nothing will ever be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

_**I've had this story idea in my mind for some time and wanted to write another 7th Doctor/Ace story. This is a work in progress, but I will do my best to update this story as regularly as possible. I hope you all will enjoy it :)**_

The Doctor had finally found her after three days of being away from her, due to circumstances that had spiraled beyond his control. He never should have brought them to Mycenae. It was foolish of him to assume that just because the Tardis had landed them at the dawn of the planet's 24th century, the planet's inhabitants would've finally achieved the peace they had worked so hard for during the war ravaged years of the prior century. He thought he had known the planet's history so well, that he and Ace would be safe during the time period they had arrived in. Something, though, had changed the course of Mycenae's history, something he was not even aware of until he and Ace had stepped out of the Tardis.

By that point, they had been swept up in the on rush of thousands of protesters and had become separated. Now, as he and Ace embraced each other, holding onto each other desperately as if afraid something would separate them again, he finally felt his hearts and mind unclench from the relentless fear and stress he had been enduring. He felt Ace shaking and sobbing, finally able to release the immense fear and stress she had endured during her time away from him. He ran his hand comfortingly down her hair, kissed her forehead, and murmured in her ear, "I've got you, Ace. You're safe now."

After a few minutes, her shaking and sobbing began to subside. Still holding onto each other, they looked into each other's eyes, drinking in the sight of each other. "I almost lost hope and never thought I'd see you again," Ace said in a slightly hoarse voice, emotion making it crack slightly.

"No matter what happens, I'll always find you, Ace," the Doctor replied in what he hoped sounded like a reassuring voice. In the back of his mind though, he realized how close he came this time to losing her forever. He tried to give a reassuring smile, but he couldn't keep the uncertainty entirely out of his eyes. To avoid looking into her eyes, he embraced her again.

He then focused his mind on their main problem. They were trapped on this planet. The Tardis was back in the main capitol of Meyna and they were in a recently abandoned house, somewhere in the countryside, Rassilon knew how many hundreds of miles from the capitol. This problem, though, he knew he could solve. He had been in far worse situations than this. It may take some time, but he knew they'd make it back to the Tardis. The secondary problem was the one that was giving him pause and making him second guess his very nature. It was just he and Ace, alone, in the middle of nowhere, being reunited after days of stress and fear for each others safety, feeling immense relief at being reunited, embracing each other tightly, and for the first time in centuries, he was in love. Rassilon help him, he was in love with Ace.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hope you all enjoy :)**_

By the time dusk fell, the Doctor and Ace had taken stock of all that the recently abandoned house had left in it. Both were relieved that it was stocked well with food, water, and toiletries. Since neither had eaten much in the last three days, they ate heartily, making sure to save plenty for their trek ahead. They would have to hitchhike back to the capitol of Meyna. The vehicles that both of them had been brought here with had been destroyed beyond repair. Even the sonic screwdriver, which the Doctor no longer had in his possession, couldn't have helped. It had been taken from him during that first day, one of the longest days of his lives. He stopped himself from thinking anymore about that day and focused on his companion sitting next to him.

After they had eaten, Ace had gone to take a much needed shower. After three days of not being able to bathe, she relished in the feel of the warm water and soap. After finishing her shower, she stepped into the adjoining bedroom, wondering if she'd be able to find anything to wear. The clothes she had been wearing for the past three days were filthy and had memories attached to them that she wanted to forget. Fortunately, she found some clothes in the closet. They were men's clothes, but were close enough to her size that they fit relatively comfortably. Deciding to save those for tomorrow, she found something to sleep in, a dark brown short sleeved button down shirt that hung to just above her knees.

As she walked out of the bedroom into the living room, the Doctor, who had been in the kitchen organizing two duffle bags of supplies they'd need for tomorrow, went ahead into the bathroom to take his shower. Ace sat down on the couch, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she opened them back up again. I'm so tired, but I don't think I can sleep without reliving everything, she thought to herself as her eyes started to tear up. In what seemed like no time at all, but was actually fifteen minutes, the Doctor was out of the shower and appeared in the living room dressed in a plain white button down short sleeved shirt and brown cotton pants. If this was any other day, she would have thought he looked very handsome and would have blushed at the thought. As it were, she was too tired and emotionally worn out to feel that way. Although she found him handsome, the overriding emotion she felt was one of safety now that he was here with her.

As he sat down beside her on the couch, a comfortable silence fell over them as they stared out of the large living room window at the darkening forest beyond. There were no lights on in the living room. There was just a bit of light coming in from the kitchen. "We should probably settle in for the night. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow," the Doctor stated quietly as Ace leaned her head on his shoulder, attempting to stifle a yawn. She was immensely grateful that he hadn't asked her about what had happened to her. She knew he would at some point, but he knew when not to push her. During their evening meal, they both had been so hungry that they didn't feel the need to talk while eating. Now in the silence of the night, with no distractions, she should've felt uncomfortable at the thought of him just sitting here with her, as if waiting for her to speak about what happened. She realized that she didn't. Even as he held her hand in his and wrapped his arm around her, she felt a peace she hadn't felt before. They had had moments like this in the past, but they were always short lived and followed by more non-stop adventures. This moment right now, with him just holding her, not pressuring her to speak, no tension as if his silence meant that she should fill it with words, this was just what she needed.

At his statement about settling in, she replied, "Yeah, I guess I should try to get some sleep." As he released her hand and moved his arm from around her, she got up from the couch and began to walk toward the bedroom. She stopped after a few steps, turned toward where he was still sitting on the couch staring out of the window, and asked, "Join me? There's plenty of room." She had tried to sound casual, but he detected a note of worry in her voice, as if she was afraid to be alone with her thoughts. If her days had been anything like his, and he had a horrible feeling they had been worse, then he didn't blame her one bit.

He smiled softly at her and, without a word, walked towards her, took her hand in his, and walked with her into the bedroom. He let go of her hand and she took the left side of the bed while he took the right side. Once in bed, he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, with her back to him, so that they were in a spooning position. He felt her take a deep breath and instantly relax into him, giving an almost audible sigh of contentment. Having her here with him, safe in his arms, produced an equal sigh of contentment from him. He kissed her temple softly and whispered in her ear, "Goodnight, Ace."

"Goodnight, Professor," she replied sleepily as she finally dozed off into a peaceful slumber.

"No, Melnab! Don't do it, please!" Ace screamed at the top of her lungs, bolting the Doctor awake after only a half hour into his restorative sleep. Without thinking, he embraced her in his arms and held onto her tightly. She also clung onto him for dear life, weeping and yelling out angrily, "It's so unfair! He was too young to die, damn it! But he was the only one of us who knew how to diffuse that bomb. There was no other way around. I saw his face, the confusion on it when he saw the bomb up close. It was something he had never seen before. Oh God, he knew he was going to die when he looked up at me and yelled to keep going and to not let them catch us…". That was all she could say, since her sobbing became uncontrollable at that point, but that was all that the Doctor needed to hear in order to understand some of the absolute hell she and her friends had gone through in the capitol.

"It'll be okay, Ace. In time, it'll be okay," the Doctor said soothingly in her ear. She reached over to the nightstand to get some tissues and as she blew her nose and wiped the tears from her eyes, all he could do was to rub her back in a calming motion. After she was done and had thrown the tissues away, she sat back on the bed and asked plaintively, "Is it time to get up yet? I don't think I can go back to sleep."

"I'm sorry, Ace, but only an hour has passed since we went to sleep. We need to get more sleep if we're going to get through tomorrow. I can help you get back to sleep, but I need to establish a mental connection with you in order to do it. Do you trust me?"

"I trust you with my life, Doctor. Do what you need to do," Ace replied resolutely.

They sat facing each other as he touched his fingers to her temples, her eyes instantly closing. Within her mind, he got a glimpse of the horrors of what she had seen and felt during the past three days. Without looking too closely at these memories, he gently guided them to one part of her mind and sealed them behind a door. Although it would have been better for her to tell him all about what she had endured, in order for her to get past it and heal, now was not the time or place. If they had made it back to the Tardis, then he would have pressed her to tell him everything, in order for the healing process to begin. They didn't have the luxury of that this time. He knew they were still in danger, although for the time being, they were in a safe place. They couldn't stay at this house indefinitely. They had to go back to hell, the capitol, in order to get to the Tardis and off of this godforsaken planet.

During that first day, he had tried to make the capitol's leaders and even the planet's leaders see reason, but to no avail. They wouldn't listen to him. He had to stop himself from thinking about what happened after that. He still had a job to do and he needed Ace's help. He needed her to be stable enough mentally and emotionally for what would possibly lie ahead during their journey back to the capitol. After securing all of those memories behind the door in her mind, he gently eased out of her mind. She opened her eyes slowly and visibly relaxed.

"Thank you, Professor," she replied sleepily as she lay back down. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

He lay back down beside her, facing her, and spent a few moments gazing at her before he too succumbed to the rest of his restorative sleep.

Morning came all too soon for Ace. She felt an arm wrapped around her and she relished in the feeling of waking up in his arms. She turned around to face him and looked into his eyes, which, in the early morning light, looked a striking shade of blue. Without saying anything, he raised up so he was looking down at her and gazed into her eyes deeply, as if reading her soul, looking for confirmation of something. She felt herself drowning in his gaze and unable to look away even if she wanted to. Something within her clicked emotionally, as if giving her the motivation needed to endure until they returned to the Tardis. An instant later, his eyes seemed to return to their normal shade of blue gray. He smiled tenderly at her and stated quietly, "Good morning, Ace."

"Good morning, Doctor," she replied as she gave him a tender smile in return. He was still looking down at her and she could tell he was debating something in his mind. After another moment, she asked, "What is it, Professor?"

"Ace, there's something I've wanted to do since yesterday. If I do this and you don't feel comfortable, just let me know and I won't do it anymore," he replied with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

Feeling her heart begin to race, getting a feeling of what he wanted to do, she replied a bit breathlessly, "Go ahead, Doctor." Without another word, he bent down and kissed her on the mouth. She kissed him back eagerly. He deepened the kiss and she followed, their tongues intermingling without hesitation. Their kissing became more passionate with every passing moment, as if they both had been dying of thirst and they were each other's salvation. He didn't want this moment to end and neither did she, but he knew they had to leave this temporary oasis of safety. With regret, he ended the kiss, but not before placing kisses on her jaw line and neck. For an instant, he buried his head in the crook of her neck, savoring the moment.

With her arms around him, her hands touching his hair at the base of his neck, she said, "If this is how you intend to wake me up each morning, then I won't mind the mornings so much anymore."

He chuckled, sat up from her, smiled down at her, lightly tweaked her nose and said, "Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."


	3. Chapter 3

_**There's a twist at the end of this chapter which puts this story in a whole new light. Hope you all enjoy :)**_

In the early morning light, as they left the abandoned house, each carrying a duffel bag of supplies along with a container each of water, they quietly glanced at the area off to the side of the house where they had arrived yesterday. Both vehicles had been damaged beyond repair and only ashes remained of each group of men who had brought them here separately. Ace turned away from the area and began walking down the gravel path, not wanting to think about what had occurred there. The Doctor took one last look at the area, his expression filled with anger and sorrow, then walked away to catch up with Ace.

After a couple of hours of walking, without having seen any signs of anybody around, Ace asked, "Are you sure we're heading in the right direction, Professor?"

He took out his compass from his jacket and checked it. "Yes, Ace. We're heading north, in the direction of the capitol. I recall my captors yesterday saying we were heading south to their 'safe house', the house we ended up staying in. If we follow this paved road a bit farther, we should find some signs of civilization." At least I hope we do, he thought to himself as he and Ace continued walking.

Around lunch time, they stopped along the side of the road to partake of a few of the consumables the Doctor had packed for them. They hadn't spoken much in the last few hours, mainly because there was nothing to say at the time. What they each knew they had to talk about, they couldn't until they were safely back in the Tardis. There was too much anguish and pain from the last three days to speak of it in detail so soon.

What they had also not spoken of was this new level to their relationship, but it seemed to him that nothing would need to be said, at least until they returned to the Tardis. He didn't feel any awkwardness or tension from Ace, which relieved him immensely. The last thing he had wanted to do was to ruin their friendship. He had surprised himself when he had acted so boldly this morning. Of course, he had done it mainly because he loved Ace, but there was another more practical reason. He knew that it would make her happy, that the endorphins the experience produced would energize her and give her something more pleasurable to ponder on, instead of the terror she had been through in the past three days. Even though he had succeeded in placing those horrible memories of hers behind a door in her mind, he knew that all it would take would be another life threatening experience for that door to be thrown wide open again. With them heading back towards the capitol, he knew anything was bound to happen, whether it be on their journey back, or once they re-entered the capitol. He would do everything possible to ensure Ace's safety and that nothing would separate them again.

Something in the back of his mind still plagued him, though. What had caused Mycenae's history to change so drastically in a matter of seconds. As soon as he and Ace had stepped out of the Tardis, the wrongness of it all had hit him full force. Of course, at the time, he hadn't had the opportunity to process what he was feeling since they had been swept up in, and separated by, the mass of protesters within the capitol. In the ensuing three days since that moment, he hadn't had the time to figure it out, what with worrying about Ace and trying to stop the opposing factions from killing each other. Now, though, as he and Ace continued walking, he was able to give this puzzle his full attention.

Mycenae has been a part of the great and bountiful human empire since the 22nd century, a world colonized by humans. This planet had no intelligent life on it prior to the humans' arrival. Three days ago, while the Doctor had been involved in diplomatic talks with the leaders of both of the capitol's factions, there was no indication that their disputes had been caused by any outside influences. These disputes were internal, political, and based on differences in each side's religious ideologies. Therefore, he could rule out interference by a different species. Their disputes, he recalled from Mycenae's 23rd century history, should have been well resolved by the beginning of the 24th century. It was almost as if this planet's society had taken a major step backwards sometime in its past. What I wish I could do right now is find a computer terminal somewhere to quickly research Mycenae's history and compare it with what I know to be their correct history, he thought to himself. I bet there's a discrepancy somewhere in their past, but what caused the discrepancy? In order to affect this society so radically, someone would have had to change a fixed point in time. The Time Lords would never interfere in this manner and this doesn't have the Master's sense of style when it comes to destruction. He would have shown himself by now anyways, he thought to himself as he became increasingly concerned. Of course, another time sensitive species could have gotten lucky ages ago and changed a fixed point in Mycenae's history. The Doctor, though, knew with a sickening dread, that wasn't what had occurred.

He had to stop walking and made himself take a few deep breaths. As soon as he had stopped, Ace looked at him and asked, with fear and concern, "Doctor, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

The color had drained from his face and he felt dizzy, as if he was going to fall down. Ace was at his side in an instant, keeping him steady. Looking into her eyes, he replied with fear and anguish, "Oh Ace, I'm so sorry. I caused all of this to happen!"

"What do you mean, Doctor? We just arrived three days ago. You didn't cause their war," she tried to reason with him, confusion and concern evident on her face.

"No, Ace, I don't mean me personally," he replied as the fear in his voice was replaced by a deadly calm. "He changed a fixed point in time. He ruined this planet's history and by doing so, put you and me in extreme danger here."

Ace saw the Oncoming Storm gather strength in his eyes, which had taken on a steel blue color. Putting two and two together, she asked, "Was it one of your other selves?"

Looking into the distance, the Doctor replied, "Yes, it was one of my future selves and Rassilon help him if he ever crosses my path!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hope you all enjoy :)  
**_

The Doctor and Ace had kept on walking, finding no sign of human life anywhere along the road. As the sun began to set, they decided to camp off the side of the road, luckily finding a small stream about a quarter of a mile into the woods. After he tested the water and deemed it safe to drink, they filled up their containers and sat down in a nearby clearing to eat a couple of things the Doctor had packed for them the night before. Once finished, he set about finding some sticks and kindling to use for their fire, thanking Rassilon he was able to find flint in his jacket pockets. Ace decided to lie back on the grass, stare up at the myriad of sunset hues, and attempt to relax her aching feet.

Before she knew it, he had gotten a small fire going and, sitting down beside her, said kindly, "Take off your shoes, Ace."

Sitting up, she looked at him quizzically and asked, "How'd you know my feet were hurting?"

"I can always tell when you're in pain," he answered honestly as he looked away from her and stared into the fire.

As she obligingly took off her shoes and socks, she said, "Same here." At his quizzical look, she responded, "I didn't used to know what you were feeling, but after living with you for these past ten years, I think I've gotten good at knowing at least some of what you're feeling and if you're in pain too." She placed her feet next to him and wiggled her toes invitingly.

Chuckling at them, he lifted his feet into her lap and began to massage her feet with deft fingers. "You constantly amaze me, Ace, even after all these years," he replied as he warmly gazed into her eyes.

Laying back down on the grass, she relished the feel of his hands on her feet and let out a soft sigh of contentment. She closed her eyes and, before she knew it, she fell asleep.

About four hours later, she was awakened by a familiar sound, a sound that just three days ago, she doubted she'd hear again. She turned around and was greeted by a sight that almost brought tears to her eyes, the Tardis dematerializing right there in the clearing. The Doctor had woken up a few seconds before she had and was staring at the Tardis in a mixture of disbelief and deep concern. Knowing he had no means of calling his own Tardis to them, she knew this was the arrival of one of his other selves. Could this be one of his future selves, the one who changed a fixed point in time, she thought to herself in a mixture of wonder and trepidation. As both she and the Doctor stood up, she glanced at his face and knew it was the calm before the storm. He would be civil to whichever incarnation this happened to be and accept whatever help he offered, but he would not readily forgive what his other self had done. She waited in weary anticipation for the Tardis door to open.

Ace caught a glimpse of the interior of the other Doctor's Tardis but it was a peripheral detail as she stared, shocked, at this future incarnation of the Doctor. He was tall, skinny, wearing a tan trench coat over top of a modern looking blue suit with red converse sneakers, with black hair that could only be defined as 'sticky-uppy'. It was his eyes, though, that made her breath catch in her throat. They were a dark brown, piercing, ancient, as if they had seen and caused more death and destruction than even her own Doctor was capable of. She thought all of this in a matter of seconds, before his eyes met hers and instantly changed to become warm and affectionate. He smiled at her widely and called out from the doorway of his Tardis, "Ace McShane, It feels like ages since I've seen you! Well, it's been lifetimes really. Tell me, are you still carrying any Nitro 9?"

Before she could answer, her own Doctor stood so he was in front of her. She felt his anger roll off of him in waves as he confronted his future self. "Before you start cozying up to 'my' companion, I want to know what exactly happened and how you could have let it happen! Seeing as how you're three regenerations older than me, I would have expected better of you!"

The smile instantly vanished from the Tenth Doctor's face and his eyes became filled with a darkness that far surpassed anything she had ever witnessed from her own Doctor.

"This isn't the time or place for this conversation. I came to pick you and Ace up and give you a lift back to your own Tardis in the capitol. After what I've gone through, I can do without a lecture from you until you've heard all the facts. Now, are you both coming?", he asked with barely suppressed anger as he turned around, walked back inside the Tardis, leaving the door open.

Ace looked at her Doctor and said, "We should go with him. You said yourself it's hundreds of miles back to the capitol."

"You're right, Ace. I can be civil for a short time, at least," he acquiesced even as he stared back angrily at the spot his Tenth self had formerly occupied.

They made sure their campfire was extinguished, picked up their bags, and walked toward the Tardis. After walking a few steps, the Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her movement. As she turned towards him expectantly, he stated, "Ace, as soon as we arrive at our Tardis, I want you to go inside and wait for me. I'm going to have a good, long talk with my Tenth self and get to the bottom of this." His eyes lost some of their anger, to be replaced by deep concern and a hint of fear. "Something inconceivable, too horrific to imagine, has changed my future self irrevocably, causing him to break the First Law of Time. That makes him extremely unpredictable and dangerous. I fear dealing with my future self may be my greatest challenge yet."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Finally, the long awaited final chapter is complete! I apologize for how long this took to write. I hope this chapter will have been worth the wait. Thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed this story. Enjoy :)**_

The tension was so thick it could be cut like a knife. Ace sat in the chair by the TARDIS console observing the sight before her. One Doctor was busy working the controls while the other one was standing off to the side, his expression one of calmness, yet his eyes were filled with the calm before the storm. Her Doctor didn't meet her gaze as he continued to stare at his older incarnation. She thought of attempting to break the tension by asking which incarnation this older Doctor was, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. She looked at this version of the Doctor, wondering about him, what could have driven him to do what her Doctor said that this older version of him had done which had caused Mycenae's history to change so drastically.

All of a sudden, the older version of the Doctor looked up at Ace and she had to remember to breathe. His eyes were mesmerizing, even more so than her Doctor's. For a few seconds, but what felt like longer, she felt like she couldn't have looked away even if she had wanted to. His eyes held warmth and affection for her, yet also held so much anger and pain inside. He hadn't even said a word to her, yet she felt like he had intuitively told her so much in just that one look.

The Seventh Doctor saw the look that transpired between his older incarnation and Ace. It took everything he had to bite back a scathing retort, something along the lines of 'How dare you even look at my companion like that!' He just knew that his older self would still care deeply for Ace. He couldn't blame him for that, but that didn't stop the twinge of jealousy he felt in that moment. Of course, his older self didn't even deign to look at him. He just kept busy at the controls.

A few seconds later, the TARDIS dematerialized in the capitol, right next to the Seventh Doctor's TARDIS. The Tenth Doctor scanned the area and everything seemed calm, too calm, but he put the thought out of his mind, chalking it up to him getting more paranoid with age. As Ace stood up from the chair to make her way next to her Doctor, he stated as calmly as possible, "Thank you for the lift back to the capitol. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take Ace back to my TARDIS and then I'll come back here so we can continue our discussion."

There was no response from the Tenth Doctor, who continued to fiddle with the controls and avoided his younger self's piercing gaze.

"Goodbye, Doctor," Ace said quietly as she looked once more at this older version of the Doctor as she was being led by the hand by her own Doctor to the TARDIS outer doors.

The Tenth Doctor finally looked up from the controls and said quietly, "Goodbye, Ace." It sounded like he would've said more, but he stopped himself and looked back down at the console, as he leaned on it, palms flat on the surface. Ace continued to look at him, a concerned expression on her face.

The Seventh Doctor opened the door, looked back toward his future self, and began to walk outside before looking to see what he was walking into. What could only be described as a fiery light began to envelope him as he screamed in agony. The Tenth Doctor looked up in fear and shock. Ace tried to pull her Doctor back inside the TARDIS, but found she was being pulled along with him by whatever force that was trying to pull him outside. "Doctor!", she screamed, as the Tenth Doctor ran over and pulled Ace back inside. Her hand slipped from the Seventh Doctor's grasp. The Tenth Doctor was just able to close the doors and lock them before whatever this thing was began to take a hold of Ace.

Before he knew it, she was trying to push him out of the way of the doors to try to get outside again. "We have to help him! Get out of my way!" she screamed at him in rage as he took her by the shoulders to keep her from opening the doors. Tears were streaming down her face, which had become red with anger, and she was shaking with fear. He saw her eyes change color and recalled that she still had the Cheetah virus.

"Ace, look at me," he stated in a commanding voice. She looked at him, anger evident in her changed eyes. In a hypnotic tone with a slight Scottish lilt to his voice, he said, "Come home, Ace." Her eyes finally changed back to their normal brown color and she looked at him in fear and confusion as tears streamed down her face. He gently cupped her face, his thumbs wiping away her tears as he said with conviction, "I don't know what's happened to your Doctor, but I will find out what's happened and I will get him back. But I need your help, Ace. I need you to be strong for me. I know you've already been through so much, but I need you to hold on for a little longer. Can you do that for me?"

Ace looked into the eyes of this man who she had just met, yet felt like she already knew and replied in a slightly shaky voice, "Yeah, I can…Professor."

The Seventh Doctor, after screaming in agony for what seemed like hours, but was only in fact minutes, finally succumbed to blissful nothingness as he passed out. The weapon had been set on the lowest setting at wide dispersal, creating the illusion of the all encompassing fiery light. He was held by two aliens as they were transported away. The streets were empty. The only witnesses to this event were the leaders of Mycenae, who saw everything from the windows of their government building. The day before, it had been decided that if the Doctor were to appear back in the capitol, he would be taken away by this alien race, who had just shown up the day before. This race, called the Tunglia, claimed they had a score to settle with the Doctor and would be most appreciative if the Mycenaens were to hand him over to them.

The leaders of Mycenae had, once and for all, gotten their city back from the thousands of protesters who had been rioting in their streets for the past several days. A few days ago, when the Doctor had first appeared, he had tried in vain to make them see reason. He told them that a diplomatic solution could be brokered between the political elite and the protesters, but the leaders would not hear of such a thing. The Doctor was an outsider and therefore, had no idea what would be best for their country and their world. Protests had ignited in almost every single city of every single country on their planet. Something had to be done. Martial law was declared and the military was called in to put a stop to the protesters by whatever means necessary. As bombs went off in the city and as tanks rolled by, sometimes crushing those protesters who would not get out of the way, the Doctor had tried everything he could think of to stop the leadership. He was eventually taken away to a holding cell.

On the third day, he was taken by a couple of mercenaries to their hideout away from the city in the south. That's where he had finally met up with Ace. The mercenaries who had brought Ace there and the mercenaries who had brought him had ended up having a major argument over what to do next. Tempers rose and before they knew it, a fight had broken out between both groups of mercenaries. They used their high powered energy weapons on each other and, as the Doctor and Ace watched from the safety of a nearby shed, both sides had ended up obliterating the others and both vehicles they had arrived in were nothing more but charred remains.

The Doctor was thinking of all that had occurred in the past three days as he began to wake up to vibrations beneath him. I'm on a ship, he thought to himself as he looked around in confusion. He was lying on the floor in a type of holding cell. He could hear voices in the distance. It was difficult for him to make out just what they were saying. He recalled a fiery light and immense pain. He knew he had been holding Ace's hand but had just been able to see her being pulled back into the TARDIS by his future self right before he passed out. Thank Rassilon she's safe, he thought in relief. That relief was short lived as he remembered how all of this had started, with his future self doing something that had changed a fixed point in time. That change had caused Mycenae's history to be drastically altered.

He sat up quickly, which caused him to feel some residual dizziness and pain from whatever that weapon was they had used on him. He felt a growing uneasiness at the thought of his companion's safety being in the hands of his future self. He recalled the brief look he had seen in his future incarnation's eyes, a look of a Time Lord that had been on the edge and who had recently fallen over that edge to become something else. As the Doctor stood facing the cell door, determined to do whatever it took to get out of this predicament and back to Ace, he stated out loud to himself as his eyes shone with the Oncoming Storm, "Well, it's a good thing that I'm more than just another Time Lord."

"Well, I haven't been called 'Professor' in ages," the Tenth Doctor replied with a smile on his face as he led Ace back to the console. She gave a small smile in return, but instantly felt guilty about it since her Doctor was currently in trouble. Noticing this, he said, "Don't worry, Ace. Now that I've had some time to think, I believe I know what that fiery light was that overpowered my younger self. It was an energy discharge weapon from a vile, warrior race called the Tunglia. I have no idea what they'd be doing on Mycenae in this time period, but if I know them, and I've gotten to know them pretty well over the years, then I'm betting they've transported your Doctor to a nearby ship of theirs. It must have just dropped out of orbit as soon as I had completed my initial scan of the area once we had dematerialized here in the capitol. All I need to do is track their ship's movements, which shouldn't be difficult at all seeing as how their ships have a maximum speed of warp 2." He began the dematerialization process, the TARDIS rematerializing above the planet.

Ace watched the Doctor as he continued to press buttons and was surprised when he put on a pair of glasses to more carefully read the monitor. "Now there's something I never thought I'd see you in, dorky looking glasses," she laughed as she sat back down in the chair by the console.

His glasses were half perched on his nose as he gazed at her and said "Oy, I'll have you know these glasses are the latest fashion trend of the early 21st century and I've had many compliments about these glasses. Besides, don't I look more 'professorial' with them on?" he asked in mock indignation.

"Whatever you say, 'Professor'," she said good-naturedly to him as she tried to stifle a yawn. Come on now, Ace, no falling asleep on the job, she berated herself. She got up from the chair and said, "I'm going to get some tea and change into some clean clothes. Do you want any tea?"

"Not right now. Thanks, Ace," he replied warmly as he focused his attention on the monitor once more. Once she left the console room, he took off his glasses and rubbed his face wearily with both hands. Where could the Tunglia have taken his younger self, he thought as he finally allowed himself to concede the truth. There was no way to track the Tunglia ship now. They could be anywhere. I could try the Tunglia home world, he thought half-heartedly, but he knew what he had to do. It was the only solution to the problem. He had created this entire problem. If he hadn't done what he had done on Mars…no, he couldn't go down that path right now. It was still too fresh in his mind. He had to figure out the fixed point that was changed in Mycenae's history. He knew how the planet's history had to play out, but to know what had exactly changed and when, he needed to get access to the planet's historical records and compare them to what he knew was supposed to happen. Once he found out which fixed point in time was affected, he could go back to that point in Mycenae's history and correct it. Once that was done, then everything that had happened to his Seventh self and Ace on Mycenae would be erased.

The Seventh Doctor was roused from his musings by the arrival of one of his abductors to the area he was being held in. Oh just great, a Tunglia, he thought to himself in annoyed frustration as he put on his best diplomatic smile. At least I've never run into any of them in this incarnation, so they shouldn't know it's me, he thought to himself as a plan began to form in his mind.

The Tunglia walked up to the cell door and stated in a harsh guttural voice, "You are the one they call The Doctor?"

"Oh dear, I see that you've been misinformed, old chap. You see, I am 'a' doctor, but I'm not 'the' Doctor. My name is Doctor John Smith and I was just passing by Mycenae when all of the hullabaloo began on the planet's surface."

The Tunglia, known not to be a smart race, was surprised and said with regret, "Our apologies Doctor John Smith. We will take you back to the planet." He hurriedly unlocked the cell door and 'Doctor Smith' walked out and said, with his best diplomatic smile, "Oh that's quite alright. No harm done."

The Tenth Doctor tried to gain access to the planet's historical records with the help of the TARDIS, but no matter what he tried in order to hack into their records, he couldn't get anywhere. I need to do this from a computer terminal on the surface, he thought to himself in frustration. The only place that would have accurate records would be the government buildings in the capitol. He sat down in the chair wearily, thinking how he could even ask Ace to go back to the capitol after everything she'd been through. Even though she hadn't told him a thing, he could guess at some of the things that might have occurred during the time that she was separated from her own Doctor. I could do this on my own, but I know Ace wouldn't want to stay here in the TARDIS. Well, I might as well get this conversation over with now, he thought to himself as he got up from the chair and walked towards the kitchen.

To his surprise, she wasn't in the kitchen. He remembered her mentioning something about changing into some clean clothes, so he decided to wait for her and put the kettle on. Once the tea was done and after he poured a cup for himself and her, she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He handed her the cup and sat down at the table across from her. He began to explain his plan to her and what would need to be done. After he mentioned that she and her Doctor wouldn't remember what had happened on Mycenae after the fixed point in time was corrected, she felt like crying all over again.

He noticed this immediately and asked in concern, "Ace, what's wrong?"

"It's just that my Doctor and I have gotten closer than we've ever been. We've taken a new step forward and I hate that those memories will be erased. But I know that it'll be for the greater good." She wiped the few tears that had begun to trail down her face and with determination, stated, "Doctor, do what you need to do. I'll help any way I can, even if you need me to go back to the capitol with you."

Taking her hand in his, he cupped her cheek with his other hand and said warmly, "Oh, Ace. You are simply amazing. You always were."

She felt herself begin to blush as she gazed into his eyes. Those damn mesmerizing eyes of his, she thought to herself as she quickly looked away from him and drank more of her tea. The silence that followed felt comfortable to her, though. She thought she would feel awkward after blushing, but she somehow felt safe and secure around him.

The Doctor noticed her blush and smiled inwardly. I've still got it, he thought to himself as he looked at her discreetly in between sips of his tea. She's as beautiful as I remembered, he thought to himself. I wonder what she would do if I kissed her. An inner voice in his mind quickly reprimanded him for even thinking such a thing about his other incarnation's companion. Was it just him, or did his thinking on such matters seem to have changed since the incident on Mars. He knew he had gone too far, but secretly he had felt a thrill about doing something he shouldn't have done. Perhaps the vision of Ood Sigma hadn't been enough to quiet his notion of The Time Lord Victorious?

Then out of nowhere, he thought back to the moment before his Seventh self had opened the TARDIS doors. He had been looking at the monitor and the TARDIS should have alerted him to an alien presence right outside the doors. Why didn't she tell him? Wait a minute, he thought to himself. Wasn't there a mauve light flashing on the console at that point? If so, why didn't I say something? Why did I let him open the door? He took his cup and abruptly got up from the table. He went to the sink and washed out it out. His hands started to shake as the truth of the matter finally sunk in. He sat the cup down and leaned his hands on the counter. Oh no, I allowed it to happen, he thought in shock and horror. I didn't want to deal with my Seventh self, so I allowed him to be taken away!

"Doctor, what's wrong," Ace asked in concern as she walked up to stand beside him.

He turned to her and his look of guilt and remorse were so strong that she instantly felt bad for him and enveloped him in a hug. "Hey, whatever has happened, we'll get through it, right? That's what friends are for."

"Are we friends, Ace," he asked in a voice deeper than normal as he took a step back from her. He noticed his hand had gotten a mind of its own and was gently putting a piece of her silky brown hair behind her ear. He couldn't stop his hand from then gently caressing her face.

To his pleasant surprise, she leaned into his touch but then seemed to come to her senses and backed away from him. "Doctor, we can't do this. We have to rescue my Doctor."

"Ace, time doesn't exist inside the TARDIS. We can do whatever we want, whenever we want," he replied as he took a step closer to her. She seemed to interject, but he gently put a finger to her lips and said, "It's still me, Ace. Your Doctor is a part of me. I think you know how important you are to me," he said in a slightly Scottish accent. Before she could respond, he quickly grabbed her in his arms and kissed her passionately.

She knew she should stop, should step back and slap him for doing this, but she couldn't. She could barely form a coherent thought. She was on fire and her knees felt ready to buckle. She had never felt this kind of passion before. She felt dizzy, as if this was some type of surreal dream. She noticed he had stopped kissing her and now had two fingers on each of her temples. She immediately felt relaxed and sleepy. She swayed on her feet and he carried her to a bedroom. As he lay her down on the bed, she fell asleep immediately.

He backed away from her in horror. Oh no, what have I done! What was I about to do? He immediately closed the door and stumbled back to the console room. As he leaned against the console, he breathed deeply to try to calm himself. "I have to do this on my own. I must correct that fixed point in time," he stated angrily to himself.

He dematerialized the TARDIS a few streets down from where the other TARDIS was located. It was night time on this side of the planet. He silently made it to one of the key government buildings and used his sonic screwdriver to get inside. Luckily, there were no guards around. Since all of the 'little people' had been taken away, the leadership deemed it unnecessary to adhere to old security protocols. He quickly found a computer terminal and accessed the planet's historical records from the past few decades. Even though he was an extremely fast reader, it took even him a few hours to find what he was looking for. There, that one incident in the 22nd century. If he could correct that, then everything should fall back into place. As he made it back outside to his TARDIS, he realized that he'd need to put Ace back inside her Doctor's TARDIS. He felt guilty for what he had done, but was glad he was able to stop himself before he fully lost control. Though, a part of him greatly enjoyed the effect he had on her. No, stop thinking like that! It's wrong, he berated himself as he quickly walked back inside his own TARDIS.

He next moved his TARDIS closer to the other TARDIS. He went back into the room he had left Ace in and was relieved that she was still asleep. He picked her up and carried her inside the other TARDIS, only needing to snap his fingers to unlock the door. He carried her to her room and gently placed her on the bed. He touched her face one last time and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, Ace," he whispered to her. He then left without a backwards glance.

As he exited his Seventh self's TARDIS, he saw a transportation beam nearby. The Seventh Doctor had been transported back to the surface by the Tunglia.

"What?", was all the Tenth Doctor could think to say. He quickly made sure all of his mental shields were in place, but he wasn't fast enough for his Seventh self.

The Seventh Doctor stared at his older self and knew, without a doubt, that something had transpired while he was away. "So, did you miss me?" he asked with an air of nonchalance as he calmly strode over to where his future self was standing. He looked into his older self's eyes and asked with steel in his voice, "What are you hiding from me?"

The Tenth Doctor stared right back at this younger, arrogant version of himself. "I'm not hiding anything you should know about and I don't appreciate being talked to in that manner," he shot back with a dangerous tone to his voice.

"Anything I 'should' know about, hmm," the Seventh Doctor said. His next statement, asked in a deadly calm voice, shocked the hell out of the Tenth Doctor. "So, how far did you get with Ace?" His eyes were raging with the Oncoming Storm.

The Tenth Doctor, though momentarily taken aback, came back with full force, "That's none of your business! Besides, I can't help it that she found me 'absolutely irresistible'." He wore the same all knowing smirk on his face that he had when he had told Adelaide that he was the Time Lord Victorious. His younger self might have been 'Time's Champion' but he knew his younger self was no match for him.

The Seventh Doctor held a look of pure contempt on his face, yet inside he was astonished by the absolute change that had occurred in his older incarnation. He knew, without a doubt, what he would need to do to put an end to this once and for all. Before the Tenth Doctor knew it, he had looked straight into his eyes and initiated telepathic contact.

The Tenth Doctor fell to his knees in mental anguish as the Seventh Doctor relentlessly fought him in a battle of wills. The Seventh Doctor was careful not to probe into any future memories that he shouldn't see. The Tenth Doctor luckily had come to his senses enough to block his Seventh self from seeing the memories of the Time War. But he couldn't stop his Seventh self from seeing at least part of what had transpired that had created the Time Lord Victorious. The Seventh Doctor knew what he was seeing wasn't the entire story, but that couldn't be helped. He battled his Tenth self by showing him images of everything that he, the Seventh Doctor, and his earlier incarnations had done for the good of thousands of different species, including humans. He made him remember what being The Doctor stood for, that he was still needed to fight the evils of the universe. He made his Tenth self remember who he really was, The Other, and that it was up to him to bear that responsibility, lest the universe be forever shrouded in darkness.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was only about twenty minutes, both Doctors severed the telepathic link. The Tenth Doctor was still on the ground. He saw footsteps approach him and looked up at the Seventh Doctor, who looked at him with sympathy in his eyes but stated with firm resolve, "You know what you must do." With that said, he turned around and headed back into his own TARDIS. The Tenth Doctor nodded his head in agreement and, without a word, got up and headed into his own TARDIS, which dematerialized shortly thereafter.

*4 days earlier*

"So Professor, where are we off to now?", Ace asked expectantly. The Doctor had been tinkering with the Old Girl for the past few days, making some much needed repairs, and Ace was itching for an adventure on some new world.

The Doctor popped his head out of the base of the TARDIS console and said, "I know just the place. How about…". He was about to say Mycenae, but something, some inner voice, stopped him from saying that suggestion. Instead, without barely any hesitation whatsoever, he said "a lovely beach. I know just the place." He immediately got up from the floor and did a systems check on the console. Ace hadn't even notice his hesitation. She replied, "Sounds great! I'll go get ready." As she left the console room, he pondered over what had just happened. A part of him was curious as to why something was telling him not to go to Mycenae, but he felt this time he should follow his gut instincts. Putting it out of his mind, he set the coordinates for a planet he just knew Ace would love.

**Fin**


End file.
